In today’s NYTimes business section there is an article about a very unusual product and business decision made by America’s brand marketing giant, P&G. It seems that for several years they’ve had a product branded under their PUR water purification brand that is a powder that can purify water in the field. It has not been marketed in the US until now. Instead they attempted to sell it in third world countries. When it became obvious that it would not be profitable they did something incredibly unique and forward-thinking: They built a plant in Pakistan to make the product very cheaply. Then they distributed the packets for pennies. A local village market can sell them for a dime and make 5 cents. Each purifies 10 kilos of water. P&G formed a not for profit organization internally to help provide pure water for children globally. This was a big hit within the huge company.
Now they have arranged for US sales via a much smaller company called Reliance that sells into outdoor sports and survival markets including disaster recovery. This is where it gets interesting. They are not out to make a profit on US sales. All P&G proceeds from Reliance (an independent distributor) will be donated to the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, a not for profit agency.
While there are questions about charging US disaster victims more for this than 3rd world countries, overall it is a great concept. I would hope the major Pharma companies who won’t design drugs for poor markets will take a look at this model. The fact is that climate change and its affects are global- we’re all in this together.
Kudos to Proctor and Gamble.